Dr. Renato de Castro, Trustee and Convenor of the National Security and East Asian Affairs Program, Stratbase ADR Institute A major nuisance between the Philippines and the US regarding their 69-year-old alliance is the ambiguity of the US security guarantee to its Southeast Asian ally as provided by the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and… Read More

Dr. Renato de Castro, Trustee and Convenor of the National Security and East Asian Affairs Program, Stratbase ADR Institute At the onset of his term, President Donald Trump caused uneasiness among America’s allies both in Western Europe and Asia. This was due to his explicit skepticism of the importance of America’s alliances, and his sharp… Read More

It is with pleasure that we share with you Stratbase ADR Institute’s Occasional Paper for the month of October 2020. Entitled “Building Back to Green Economic Recovery”, this paper aims to augment existing recovery plans with proposed strategies and weave these measures to maximize the potential of bouncing back better. This study is also instructive… Read More

Paco A. Pangalangan, Executive Director, Stratbase ADR Institute Our next presidential elections are closer than you think. And this next one is unlike any other. The Stratbase ADR Institute recently conducted a virtual town hall discussion to talk about the importance of holding inclusive and credible elections in 2022. During his talk, Prof. Dindo Manhit,… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President, Stratbase ADR Institute In this time of pandemic, democratic procedures and practices are the most likely victims of emergency situations and responses that would involve the urgent allocation and release of public funds. Oversight mechanisms are largely set aside in the effort to mitigate the socioeconomic impact speedily. Elections in the pandemic… Read More

Aside from its long-term effects on the global economy, the COVID-19 pandemic has also affected the conduct of politics in various democracies around the world. Due to health and safety concerns, governments were forced to suspend the majority of their services, which affected essential processes such as legislative hearings and elections. According to a recent… Read More

Dindo Manhit, President, Stratbase ADR Institute COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) has affected the delivery of public services and postponed events that are crucial to maintaining social cohesion, justice, and democracy. The electoral process is one such event under threat. That said, it becomes imperative, not just in spite of the pandemic, but because of it,… Read More